Late Night Thoughts
by jac32oz
Summary: Zach's thoughts in the middle of the night about what has happened to him recently. On his way back to the castle, he senses someone sitting in a window seat, alone. Zach's thoughts about Cammie and his life and his way of comforting her. Post Out of Sight, Out of Time.


Introductions later. Read now.

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Things weren't working well. Then again, things never work out for me.

Dr. Steve was probably long gone by now; however, that wouldn't stop me from finding and killing him. His betrayal had hit me hard, but I tried to shrug it off and remind myself what I had essentially told myself in the beginning: the only people I care about and can truly trust are Joe and Cammie. That's all.

I swallowed. That list was pretty small, to be honest. I swallowed again and tried not to think about _her._

I punched the leather sack again. I could see why Cammie liked to come to the P&E barn at night. It looked pretty cool, and it was an excellent place to think and get out your frustrations.

Even if I punched the sack again, it wouldn't keep my thoughts from going back to her. My mother.

Everyone thought that I wanted my mother dead, that I would kill her myself if I could, and it's true. Mostly.

I didn't want people to know that I thought about my mother as much as I did, especially not Cammie. The fact that Cammie is afraid of my own mother makes my blood boil in anger and shame.

I closed my eyes as I thought about how close my mother had come to killing the person I care about the most. It not had only been once, but multiple times.

If only I could have one conversation and ask her _why. _Why was she like she was? Why can't he just leave Cammie alone? Why...why doesn't she care about me?

I couldn't stand it anymore. I walked out of the barn and headed towards the mansion. As I walked up the stairs, I sensed it. It was pulling me towards as small window seat with a heavy curtain pulled in front of it. I pulled it and found her.

"Hey, Gallagher Girl."

I half-expected her to jump at the sound of the voice, but then I remembered how good she is. How trained. She didn't even flinch at the sound of my voice.

"What are you doing up so late?" she asked, never turning from the window.

"I gotta keep in shape," I shrugged, smirking a little. I wanted to see if she smiled too.

Finally, she did look at me, and I could see everything from her eyes. All of the sadness and worry she still felt, and her resistance towards the urge to flee again.

I never really figured out why I know so much about her. I told myself that it's because she dropped her defenses around me, that she truly felt safe, but then I had to remind myself that she was a spy, and that she could never truly drop her defenses, even around me.

'So you decide to go work out in the middle of the night?" she looked at me weirdly, as if I was the one who had lost my mind.

"Well it seems like I'm not the only one who has things to do late at night. What are you doing here, Gallagher Girl," I asked her softly, willing her to trust me.

"Thinking."

"Oh right, because you have to come here in the middle of the night to think," I teased.

"No. It's just...quiet." She turned back around towards the window, and I knew that she was trying to hide her feeling from me. It wasn't working.

I sat down next to her. Seeing her like this gave me a large urge to protect her. I just wanted to hold her and keep her safe. I never cared about anyone else. It was Cammie that was most important.

"Gallagher Girl..." I said softly.

"I'm fine, Zach. Really. I just couldn't sleep so I came here for a while." She tried to sound nonchalant, but she raised her hand to wipe her eyes. I grabbed her hand and entwined her fingers in mine, while gently wiping her tears with my other hand.

"Cammie, you can talk to me," I said gently.

"There's nothing to talk about," she insisted. I just wanted to sit here."

"So let's sit," I shrugged. "Gotta make myself comfortable."

I grabbed Cammie from her waist and pulled her into my lap, so that her head rested on my shoulder.

"Uh, Zach," she said, her breath tickling my neck. "This isn't what I meant when I said that I just wanted to sit here."

"But I'm comfortable," I smirked. "And I don't hear any real complaints from you."

She sighed but wrapped her arms around me. I did the same, hugging her closer to me. For a while I just played with her hair, as I felt her relax, until I was sure she was asleep.

"Gallagher Girl?" I whispered, just in case.

She didn't answer, so as gently as I could, I lifted her in my arms. I really didn't want her to wake up, mostly because if she did she would instinctively kick me in places that I didn't want to be kicked.

I briefly considered taking her back to her room, but shook my head at the thought. Who knew what kind of crazy designs Liz had make to ensure she would know when I stranger walked into their room.

When I had tucked Cammie into my bed, I climbed into the bed with her and took her in my arms again, and before I fell asleep, I briefly hoped that she wasn't a good of a spy as I thought she was, because if she was, I would surely get hurt when she saw me in the same bed as her. I smirked, anticipating her reaction, then finally fell asleep, getting the best sleep I have ever had.

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Ahhhhh. Lots of fluff.

In case you were wondering, I'm Jacqueline. I've been a fan of these books for 4 years (I even have Ally Carter's autograph). In case you didn't guess already, I'm part of the Harry Potter fandom, but I just had to write this. This is my first Gallagher Girl story, and it will probably be my last.

I hope you guys enjoy the last book whenever it comes out. I know I will.


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